When Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk held a party in late September to celebrate a connection agreement for the already half complete Tesla big battery in South Australia, and declared the installation to be “not just talk but reality”, the timing would not have been lost on premier Jay Weatherill.

Queensland’s Labor government has unveiled a suite of new policies that will open the way for thousands more homes in the Sunshine State – including the largely untapped rental market – to gain access to rooftop solar and battery storage and cut their electricity bills.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member and the largest integrated monocrystalline manufacturer LONGi Green Energy Technology said its subsidiary, LONGi Solar would ramp volume production of its PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology by the end of 2017.

According to market research firm, Bernreuter Research, global solar installations are expected to be in the range of 95GW to 97GW in 2017, while Polysilicon supply was more than adequate to meet around 100GW of end market demand.